No Time to Exercise? Try Mini-Workouts

Can’t seem to find the time to exercise? You are not alone. It is one of the top reasons given by people who don’t work out. Granted, some people are just using it as an excuse. After all, there are busy people who have found a way to set aside time to exercise because they consider it a priority.

But with traffic and hectic work schedules, there are also people who honestly want to get fit but honestly don’t have the time.

The current fitness recommendation to is cardiovascular or aerobic exercise for 30-60 minutes at least three times a week, resistance training exercise for 20 minutes at least twice a week, and stretching exercises two to three times a week.

This advice can be “mission impossible” for someone with a nine-to-five job who has to battle the rush hour going to and from work. Luckily, research has discovered that several short exercise sessions can have the same health benefits as continuous exercise. This week, I’ll share with you the scientific proof. Next week, practical guidelines to design your own mini-workout program.

Mini-workout research
In a Stanford University study, two groups of people did thirty minutes worth of exercise several times a week. The first group did 30 minutes continuously while the second group did three ten-minute sessions – in the morning, afternoon, and evening. The results were the same for both groups – improved fitness levels.

Sedentary middle-aged individuals participated in a three-week study at the University of Virginia. They did 15 10-minute sessions per week (the equivalent of two and a half hours of exercise per week) of walking, stretching, and light weight lifting. They were able to improve aerobic fitness by 15-20%, increase strength and muscular endurance by 40-100 %, lower cholesterol levels by 15 points, and lose an average of three pounds.

Head researcher Glenn Gaesser calls these short exercise sessions “sparks”. He says that even people who don’t like to exercise respond positively to sporadic sparks of exercise because they don’t feel like they are working out. He was so inspired by the findings of his study that he wrote a book, “The Spark: The Revolutionary Three-Week Fitness Plan”.

Gaesser writes, “The number one reason that people cite for not exercising is lack of time. This research shows that you don’t have to sweat and spend lots of time exercising to become significantly healthier. All aspects of fitness, muscular strength and flexibility can be addressed with short, doable bouts of exercise.”

In a 2002 University of Ulster study, people who took regular short brisk walks were able to reduce fat, lower blood pressure, reduce their risk of heart disease, and had less anxiety.

At the Cooper Institute for Aerobic Research, overweight sedentary individuals who increased their physical activity during their daily routine were able to see the same results in terms of fitness, blood pressure, and body fat as people who did 20-60 minutes of vigorous exercise several times a week in the gym.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University found that individuals who did an extra thirty minutes of physical activity like taking the stairs instead of the elevator lost almost 10 pounds at the end of the 16-week study.

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh put a group of clinically obese women (20 to 75% above normal weight) on three different exercise programs. All groups were instructed to exercise for 40-minutes daily. The first group did a continuous session. The other two groups were told to do four 10-minute sessions but one of these groups had access to exercise equipment like a treadmill in their homes.

The most successful group (adherence to the program and weight loss) was the one that did mini-workouts with the exercise equipment. So if you have a treadmill or stationary bike at home that is gathering cobwebs, put it back into active duty without having to do long exercise sessions.

Southwest Missouri University research found that adults from 18 to 43 reduced triglyceride levels 27% by performing multiple 10-minute sessions of “fast walking or jogging very slowly”. Thomas Altena, co-author of the study said, “If we can get people to use short bouts of exercise to work up to at least 30 minutes of activity on most days, we can not only help them lower fat levels in their blood but also help them improve their overall health”.

Last year, the American Heart Association cited a Harvard School of Public Health study, which found that two 15-minute sessions daily were as effective as a single 30-minute session at reducing the risk for heart disease.

Even 2 to 5-minute sessions can be effective if done often enough to accumulate 30 minutes. A 1999 study published in Preventive Health discovered that sedentary young women improved their cardiovascular health and body composition by doing multiple two-minute sessions of stair climbing daily.

Every minute and every step counts.
If you don’t have the discipline to record and keep track of how many minutes you exercise in a day, then at least make an effort to stand and walk more often than you sit. Here’s why.

A Mayo Clinic study used an interesting technology originally developed by the U.S. Air Force for their jet pilots. Lean and overweight participants were made to wear special underwear that recorded their movements every half-second continuously for 24 hours for ten days.

The scientists discovered that overweight people tend to sit about 150 minutes more per day than lean people, which meant they were burning 350 fewer calories. Head researcher James Levine calculated that if overweight people would just move more during their daily activities, they could lose 35 pounds in a year.

He said, “A person can expend calories either by going to the gym, or through everyday activities. Our study shows that the calories that people burn in their everyday activities are far, far more important in obesity than we previously imagined.”

Continue reading here: Avoiding Injuries in Step Aerobics

Was this article helpful?

0 0